1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article moving apparatus for moving articles and a direction changing apparatus that changes the direction of alignment of sticks.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, in factories in industries such as food industries, articles such as snacks have been weighed by weighing machines, and the articles having predetermined weights have been shipped after bags have been filled with the articles using bag maker-packaging machines. In order to obtain articles having predetermined weights, combination weighing machines have been used. In the combination weighing machines, articles are distributed and supplied to a plurality of weighing units arranged in a circular shape, and the respective weights of the articles supplied to the plurality of weighing units are combined, thereby making it possible to obtain articles having predetermined weights.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the configuration of a conventional combination weighing machine (see JP, 08-114490, A (1996)). The combination weighing machine 9 shown in FIG. 9 comprises a weighing unit 910 and a collecting chute unit 920.
The weighing unit 910 comprises a circular distribution trough 911, a plurality of radiation troughs 912, a plurality of pool hoppers 913, and a plurality of weighing hoppers 914. An article supply path 901 is arranged above the distribution trough 911. The plurality of radiation troughs 912 are radially arranged around the distribution trough 911. The plurality of pool hoppers 913 are respectively arranged outside and below the plurality of radiation troughs 912. The plurality of weighing hoppers 914 are respectively arranged below the plurality of pool hoppers 913.
The collecting chute unit 920 includes a plurality of upper chute units 921 and a lower chute unit 922. The plurality of upper chute units 921 are respectively arranged below the plurality of weighing hoppers 914. The lower chute unit 922 has an approximately conical shape whose diameter gradually decreases downward from above.
Description is made of the operations of the combination weighing machine 9 shown in FIG. 9. It is herein assumed that articles to be weighed are sticks such as sticky snacks.
First, the sticks to be weighed are continuously supplied to the distribution trough 911 from the article supply path 901. The distribution trough 911 vibrates up and down while lining up the sticks in one direction, and transports the sticks to the plurality of radiation troughs 912. The radiation troughs 912 vibrate up and down, to respectively introduce the sticks into the pool hoppers 913. Gates 913a and 913b of each of the pool hoppers 913 are opened at predetermined timing so that the sticks are introduced into the weighing hopper 914 below the pool hopper 913. Each of the weighing hoppers 914 weighs the sticks introduced from the pool hopper 913.
A combination of the plurality of weighing hoppers 914 is selected such that the sum of the weight values of the sticks 800 respectively weighed by the weighing hoppers 914 is a predetermined target weight value. Respective gates 914a of the selected weighing hoppers 914 are almost simultaneously opened so that the sticks 800 in the selected weighing hoppers 914 are respectively dropped into the upper chute units 921. Consequently, the sticks 800 slide in the upper chute unit 921 and the lower chute unit 922, and are discharged downward from an opening at a lower end of the lower chute unit 922. The discharged sticks 800 are packaged by a bag maker-packaging machine.
Here, the sticks 800 discharged from the lower chute unit 922 are aligned in the vertical direction. Therefore, the sticks 800 are packaged using a vertical pillow type bag maker-packaging machine. In the vertical pillow type bag maker-packaging machine, the sticks 800 are supplied in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) utilizing gravity, a pillow type (pillow-shaped) bag is formed in the longitudinal direction, and the bag is filled with the supplied sticks 800.
In this case, a film which is a packaging material is curved in a cylindrical shape so that both its sides are sealed to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the cylindrical film is sealed in the transverse direction, thereby forming a bag. The sticks 800 aligned in the vertical direction are introduced into the bag. Thereafter, an opening at an upper end of the bag is sealed in the transverse direction.
When the sticks 800 aligned in the vertical direction are packaged by the vertical pillow type bag maker-packaging machine, the sticks 800 must be introduced into the cylindrical film after the cylindrical film is sealed in the transverse direction. When there occurs a lag between the timing of sealing the cylindrical film in the transverse direction and the timing of introducing the sticks 800 into the cylindrical film, the sticks 800 to be dropped may, in some cases, be meshed with a sealed portion in the transverse direction of the cylindrical film.
Therefore, the direction of alignment of the sticks 800 discharged from the lower chute unit 922 in the combination weighing machine 9 is changed from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, and the sticks 800 are packaged by a horizontal pillow type bag maker-packaging machine, thereby making it possible to prevent the sticks 800 from being meshed with the sealed portion of the cylindrical film. In this case, a direction changing apparatus for changing the direction of the sticks 800 aligned in the vertical direction to the horizontal direction is required.
FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the operations of a conventional direction changing apparatus. In the conventional direction changing apparatus, sticks 800 aligned in the vertical direction are accommodated in an accommodating container 950, as shown in FIG. 10(a), and the accommodating container 950 is rotated through an angle of 90 degrees around a shaft 951, as shown in FIG. 10(b), thereby changing the direction of alignment of the sticks 800 to the horizontal direction. After the sticks 800 are discharged from the accommodating container 950, the accommodating container 950 is rotated through an angle of 90 degrees in the opposite direction, thereby returning to the state shown in FIG. 10(a). This operation is repeated to change the direction of alignment of the sticks 800 sequentially supplied.
However, the configuration of such a direction changing apparatus is complicated. Further, the accommodating container 950 must be rotated at low speed in order to prevent a shock from being given to the sticks 800 when the accommodating container 950 is rotated. Therefore, intervals at which the sticks 800 are introduced are lengthened, so that a processing time period is lengthened.
Furthermore, it is also possible to gradually change the direction of alignment of the sticks 800 discharged from a collecting chute (corresponding to the lower chute unit 922 shown in FIG. 9) to the horizontal direction from the vertical direction by sliding the sticks 800 on an inclined sliding path (see JP, 01-089330, U (1989)). In this case, however, the size of the combination weighing machine is increased.
When the articles to be weighed are not sticks such as potato chips, the direction of alignment of the weighed articles which have been discharged from the lower chute unit 922 in the combination weighing machine 9 need not be changed. When a lower end of the lower chute unit 922 in the combination weighing machine 9 and a belt conveyer for conveying the weighed articles to the bag maker-packaging machine are spaced apart from each other, for example, however, the weighed articles which have been discharged from the lower chute unit 922 in the combination weighing machine 9 may be broken or damaged upon receipt of a shock when they are dropped onto the belt conveyer.
Therefore, an article moving apparatus capable of easily moving the weighed articles which have been discharged from the lower chute unit 922 in the combination weighing machine 9 to the belt conveyer in a simple configuration without giving a shock to the weighed articles is desired.